Russia, China discussing joint exploration of Mars, scientist says

MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. Russia and China are in talks on a joint initiative to explore Mars, Lev Zelyony, scientific director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Space Research Institute and supervisor of the first phase of the lunar program, said.

"We plan to continue exploring Mars and we are discussing the possibility of cooperation with our Chinese colleagues as we have maintained positive cooperation with regard to the Moon," he pointed out at a press conference dedicated to the upcoming Cosmonautics Day.

Russia also plans to initiate the joint exploration of the Moon within the BRICS group, Zelyony noted.

"We are thinking about - it’s only in the planning stage now - launching large-scale cooperation in exploring the Moon within BRICS, which includes both India and China along with other quite developed countries. These are only plans for now, but perhaps we will discuss them at a BRICS meeting in the near future," he said.

Origin: https://tass.com/science/1771931